


We're still growing

by broship_addict



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Canon-typical Issues, Gen, M/M, mentions of and attempted sexual assault, other characters briefly present
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 09:37:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6465262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broship_addict/pseuds/broship_addict
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nicky and Neil need to sort some things out and Andrew may or may not be pleased with the result.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We're still growing

**Author's Note:**

> I have really strong feelings about Nicky and how he grows as a Fox. Literally 4000 words of fluff about athletes shopping and talking about feelings.

It’s the summer break after winning championships and Nicky thinks that Neil’s due for another shopping trip.  Preferably one that involves nicer and flashier clothes, since Neil doesn’t have to run and hide and, honestly, he’s way too handsome to be wearing those faded jeans for the rest of his life.

They (Nicky, Neil, the twins, and Kevin) are all going to Columbia anyways, so Nicky figures that it’d be a good opportunity to hit the mall.  He just needs to convince Neil.

“ _Please_ ,” he whines, drawing out the vowels and raising his voice an octave, “I promise that I won’t make you buy anything you don’t want, you just _really, really_ , need things to wear other than your PSU hoodie and dumb Exy pun t-shirts.”

Neil, as expected, is unimpressed.  “There’s nothing wrong with what I wear.”

“This is another instance in which you prove you have no right to make judgement; you literally tell me this every time.  Seriously, Neil, now that you aren’t on the run you can actually wear something vaguely fashionable.  I’ll pay and we can get lunch and everything!”

Nicky spots what he hopes is hesitation on Neil’s face, before saying his clincher.  “There’s another Exy shop in Columbia that sells quality shoes.  Yours are already getting worn through, so we can stop by that as well.”

That did it.  “Okay,” Neil agrees, looking almost as if he had just signed his soul to the devil.  He grabs his wallet and phone while Nicky leaves to tell Andrew that they want to go early.  Andrew and Kevin only look at Nicky apathetically as he does his best to wheedle them, when Neil shows up.

“Are we going?” Neil asks.

Wordlessly, Andrew rises off the couch and moves to the door, not checking to see if anyone was following.  His keys are already out and he bangs on the doorframe farthest from the stairs before Aaron comes out, rolling his eyes.  Kevin just grunts, pausing the Exy game he was watching and glaring at Neil accusingly before they file out.  They pile into the car, Nicky looking much more pleased than necessary beside Neil, and Andrew pulls out of the parking lot.

“Drive to the house,” Nicky says once they’re on the interstate.  “This is bonding time for Neil and me, so you guys should just stay at home while we shop.”

“The fuck?” Aaron complains, turning to stare at Nicky.  “You seriously made us leave early for _shopping_?”

Nicky just shrugs.  “Important shopping.  Neil needs better clothes.”

Three sets of eyes are on Neil, and he wonders what Nicky had told them to make them come.

“He’s bribed me with food and new court shoes.”

Kevin instantly looks appeased, nodding as if he too had been considering the scruffy shoes that Neil had been wearing from Millport, after the blood incident on his birthday.  Aaron grumbles under his breath before looking out the window, and the rest of the drive is made quietly. 

When they get to the house, everyone slides out.  Nicky moves up front and Neil takes the driver’s seat under Andrew’s blank stare, before inserting his keys and reengaging the engine.  He pulls out as Nicky mutters about the unfairness of Neil getting the other set of car keys. Nicky finally stops to give directions to Neil, who silently complies. 

“Turn into the parking lot here,” Nicky says.  He’s unbuckled before Neil even stops the car.  Neil lets him lead the way through the mall, and is surprised when they end up in front of a barber shop instead of a clothing store. 

“Why?”

“Because,” Nicky says, walking up to the register, “your face is too nice to be hidden.  Come on.”

Neil frowns.  “There’s nothing wrong with my hair.”

“It doesn’t get in your face when you play?  Thought so.”

“Can’t I just cut it myself?  It’s not that hard and-“

“Shush, child.  This would be so much better.”  Nicky looks at the young man walking up to them.  “Trim it and style it however you think would look good.  Don’t make it too complicated though; he’ll never actually bother to do anything to his hair.”

The hairstylist smiles and ushers Neil to a chair.  He’s looking tense, so Nicky follows them.

“Hey, Neil.  Are you okay?”  He says this in German, hoping to give Neil some privacy.

“I’m fine.”  The hairstylist starts rearranging his tools and pretends to be busy.

“Bullshit.  What’s wrong?”

Neil bites his lip and turns away.  “I guess I’ve never had my hair cut by a stranger before?  It was always either my mom or me in a mirror.”

Nicky’s expression softens, even though Neil can’t see.  “It’s hardly any different; they know what they’re doing.  And I’ll stay with you the whole time to stop him if there’s anything that bothers you.”

He isn’t answered, but Neil sits down anyways.  The hairstylist brings out a cloth to wrap around Neil’s shoulders, and he flinches minutely when the stylist enters his personal space, before locking back his expression.  Nicky watches this and feels guilty moving to one of the waiting chairs. 

Neil never lets his eyes close, and watches the hairstylist through the mirror the entire time.  Fingers run through his hair and the hairstylist murmurs something about damage.  He doesn’t move at all when scissors and razors cut his hair, but Nicky can see the line of his shoulders slowly relax by the tiniest amount.  The haircut is done before long, and Neil doesn’t wait before brushing the hair off himself and standing up.  Nicky returns to the register in order to pay.

When he’s done, Nicky turns to get a good look at Neil.  The haircut is incredible.  His bangs had been cut so they no longer hung over his slate-blue eyes and instead curled at his forehead.  His hair was styled wildly, which makes his scars and burns look more roguish than a result of several sadistic freaks.  Neil gives him a small smile in response. 

“It’s okay,” he says to Nicky’s wide grin. 

“It’s more than okay, Neil, you look fantastic.  Now come on, we need to get you clothes to match!” 

Nicky’s giddy by the time they finish shopping, proud of the new (not orange) jacket he convinced Neil to get, as well as the jeans (“Yes, of course there’s a difference between slim-cut jeans and your monstrosities, Neil.”).  He makes Neil change in the mall washrooms, wanting Andrew to see the complete makeover all at once.  Nicky resists the urge to whistle inappropriately when Neil comes out, and they head back to the car.

“Make a right at the next light then pull over,” he tells Neil, directing him to his favourite restaurant.  “The German food here is authentic, I promise.”

They make small conversation with the waitress, who is the owner’s daughter and recognises Nicky when they walk in.  She seems pretty happy to converse with the two of them in German, and brings them each a bowl of soup claiming that it’s on the house.  Nicky drinks in the smile on Neil’s face when he takes the first bite of their newly arrived food.

“Told you it’s authentic.” 

Neil says nothing in favour of eating, so Nicky continues.  “I first came here after returning from Germany.  I was homesick like crazy, and it was my day off so I googled something like ‘German food Columbia SC’ and ended up here.  It took me forever to admit that the _Rahmschnitzel_ here is better than Mrs. Klose’s.”

“Are you still homesick?”

“Nah; playing Exy with the Foxes makes me too busy to be.  But I guess I still miss them?  The Klose’s seemed more like a family to me than mom and dad are,” Nicky says soberly, then brightens.  “Though I’m planning on having them as my family soon, so you better come to the wedding!”

Neil shrugs noncommittally, but knows that he wouldn’t miss it for anything.  Nicky seemed to realize this, because he tells him, “Consider my wedding gift to be you convincing Andrew to dance!”

They finish their meal on Nicky’s lighter conversation topics and Neil picks up the bags as Nicky pays the bill and tip.  The waitress calls out as they leave, to which Nicky waves cheerfully to her and the owner who had peeked out from the kitchen.

This time directions are given to a small shop hidden amongst office buildings.  Neil looks dubiously at the tiny sign and unassuming exterior before stepping out of the car. 

“Are you sure this is it?”  He asks, trailing behind Nicky.  His eyes widen when they go through the door.

“When will you learn to trust what I tell you?”  Nicky asks.

It definitely wasn’t Exites, but despite the size of the store, every space in the wall was hidden behind Exy stuff.  The wall directly opposite of the door was covered in various shoes, and roll-out racks holding pro-team jerseys and dri-fit shirts were all pushed into a corner.  Racquets were hung on the remaining two walls.  A stringing machine was behind the small register desk, and a woman greets them from there.

Neil rejects her offer of help and moves to the shoes.  Nicky goes to help, and they pull out different options in Neil’s size.  Unlike other Exy stores, this one sells court shoes meant for different sports, all with various alterations in the cushioning and shape.  Surprisingly, the badminton shoes feel better to Neil than his old Exy ones.  He rejects the first two shoes he tries on, the fourth, and the last pair, before re-trying the third and fifth to determine the best. 

“This one,” he says, then frowns.  “But maybe half a size bigger?”

“On it.”

As a result of the shop’s small size, there appeared to be no rhyme nor reason to the stacking order of the shoe boxes.  Neil and Nicky scan the stacks before Neil’s eye finds the right size.

Unfortunately, it was too high.

“Hey, Nicky, it’s over there,” Neil points and tries not to look pathetic.  Nicky, who briefly gave up the search to repack the rejected shoes doesn’t look up.

“Try it on, then.”

Neil scowls and reaches up, fingers not quite reaching the box and causing the stack to sway slightly.  He weighs the pros and cons before mumbling a “fuck it” under his breath.  “I can’t reach it.”

“What are you – _Oh_ ,” Nicky does his best to restrain any laughter, but comes up with a strange giggle.  Out of the entire team, Andrew, Aaron, and Neil were by far the shortest and he couldn’t help but find it funny.  With ease, he reaches up and brings down the desired box as well as the one that was balanced precariously on top.  The shade of red that Neil’s face turns makes tiny freckles appear on his cheeks and nose, which Nicky finds incredibly adorable.  Neil tries on the pair and looks satisfied as he takes them off, nodding to Nicky before replacing them into the box and going up to the register.

Nicky lunges for the box.  “Nuh-uh.  I told you that I’ll pay.”

Neil, of course, dodges with the easiness of one of the NCAA’s best strikers.  “I wanted to get this.  It wasn’t included in the deal.” 

“Yeah, but we don’t have the team card and I’m the one who brought up the shoes.”

The woman is looking at them and their flailing limbs impatiently, so Neil makes a quick break to her.  “You bought me food and clothes and a haircut.  It’s fine.”  He hands over the cash before Nicky can protest again.

By the time they’re back in the car, it’s time to pick up the others and Nicky’s still sulking.  They reach the house and climb out, but Nicky stops Neil at the door.

“Don’t come in right away.  I want to see the look on their faces.”

Neil complies, though doesn’t really see the whole point.  Aaron makes it to the door first, so Nicky stalls him by letting his mouth run.  Finally, Kevin and Andrew come into view, which is when Nicky chooses to enter the house and reveal Neil, who had been silently standing behind him.

Aaron does his best not to let any surprise show, but his eyebrows raise a fraction of an inch anyways.  Kevin looks more impressed with the new length of Neil’s bangs, though his eyes only linger for a little bit.  Andrew, however, narrows his eyes when he sees Neil, and turns his murderous glare Nicky’s way once he realizes who to blame.

 _Shit_ , thinks Nicky.

_What if he doesn’t like it, what if he thinks I defiled his boyfriend?  Would he kill me over a haircut??  Would he just maim me?  Is Neil gonna be angry that I set Andrew off???_

Andrew doesn’t say anything as he marches to the car, unnecessarily shoving Nicky along the way.  Neil frowns in confusion, but shrugs and follows him out the door.  When the others get to the car, Neil’s already sitting in Kevin’s usual seat up front.

“What?”  He says in response to Kevin’s scowl.  “Andrew told me to sit here.”

The drive to Sweetie’s seems to fly by.  From between Aaron and Kevin, Nicky can see Andrew’s eyes through the rear-view mirror.  They keep drifting to the passenger seat, where Neil is looking out the window, and Nicky is fairly certain that he isn’t imagining Andrew’s softened gaze.

 _Maybe the haircut and new clothes didn’t turn out too badly_ , he realizes, trying to hide his grin.  When they get to Sweetie’s, they order their usual ice cream; Andrew refusing to grab the crackers as per the new norm.  Nicky wonders if Neil had any involvement with it, but dismisses the thought once he remembers all the cigarettes Andrew and Neil had gone through the day before.  Aaron must not agree, since he shoots Neil a glare as they make their way out.

Once again Kevin ends up sitting at the back on the drive to Eden’s Twilight.  Nicky, Kevin, Aaron, and Neil enter the club as Andrew parks; they separate at the entrance with Neil heading towards the bar to get drinks and the rest scouting for a table, confident that Roland knows their drinking preferences well enough.  After finding parking, Andrew would meet Neil at the bar.

Several shots in and the group has noticeably loosened up.  Aaron leaves for the dance floor, Kevin attempts to give himself alcohol poisoning, and Andrew watches impassively as Nicky tries to convince Neil to dance.

“Come on, Neil!  It’ll be like, one dance – have some fun!”

Neil isn’t agreeing, but he isn’t outright saying “no”, either.  Nicky can tell that he’s hesitating, and he really wants a chance to talk to Neil.

“I promise that I won’t do anything weird, and I’ll do your gross Raven drills or whatever when we get back.  Just one dance?  Please?”

Andrew doesn’t say anything in response to Nicky’s words, but Kevin looks up.  His look at Neil very clearly says, “ _Do it for the team, do it for Exy_ ," and Neil resists the urge to roll his eyes.

“Only one.”

“Hell yeah!”  Nicky grabs hold of Neil’s upper arm but makes sure that his grasp is loose enough for Neil to break free if he wants to.  He doesn’t.  They weave through the crowd until Nicky brings him to a fairly isolated corner, away from the main body of the dancers, before Nicky’s hands make their way to Neil’s shoulders and he begins swaying.

Neil’s pretty stiff, but they continue like that for half the song before Nicky opens his mouth.  “Hey, Neil,” he says.

“What?”

Nicky’s smile is gone.  “I just want to…Look, I’m sorry about being a complete ass to you.”

“You already apologized for the kiss and drugs.”  They both remember Neil’s first trip to Columbia, when the cousins had drugged him and Nicky had assaulted him.

“Not just that,” Nicky says, looking into Neil’s eyes and trying to read him.  “I mean every time I messed up.  I’m sorry for the kiss, yeah, but I’m also sorry for not trusting you, for making dumb jokes about your body and your sexuality and for hitting on you; I’m sorry for not accepting that when you said you ‘don’t swing’, you meant it, and for every other time I made you uncomfortable.”

Neil doesn’t respond immediately, and Nicky feels a wave of vulnerability.  “It’s just that over time, I’ve realized, and you’ve made me realize, that just because I’m gay not everything I do is fine?  And finding out what happened to Andrew, with Drake, and having you tell me off whenever I said something crude about Allison or Matt helped me see that.

“I guess part of it is that being your friend makes me want to be better?  I know that you can’t really forgive me for everything I’ve done, but-“

“Nicky,” Neil interrupts, “I’ve already forgiven you for everything you’ve said, to me at least.  You’re an asshole, but all the Foxes are, and it’s enough that you’ve changed and get that, now.”

Neil looks really awkward, and Nicky is suddenly aware that the song that they had started dancing to was long over.  A new one begins.

“So you’re finally gonna admit that we’re friends?”

Just then, a body inserts itself between Nicky and Neil.

“What, asshole?”  Neil says angrily, and Nicky is inclined to agree.

“You’re too pretty for him,” says the intruder, leering at Neil and breathing all over him.  He smells of alcohol and acted beyond drunk, reaching out to grab Neil’s hips.  “You need to know what _real_ dancing’s like.”

Neil tenses, shoving the guy’s hands off of himself and readies to punch the guy in the stomach.  “Don’t touch me.”

Nicky’s not sure why he did it, since he knows that Neil was more than capable of knocking Exy players twice his size off their feet, but suddenly his fist finds his way into the side of the guy’s jaw and the asshole drops.

“He said to get the fuck away from him!”

The guy clamors back up and looks at Nicky venomously.  Nicky is unimpressed, because living with Andrew and Aaron for years has desensitized him to all amateur attempts to glare.  “You little SHIT!” The guy snarls, winding his arm back to land a blow, which Nicky was more than prepared to take and return, when he abruptly stops.

Their fight had drawn the attention of the dance floor, and Andrew must have realized that the Foxes tend to be in the middle of most brawls, because it is his knife held against the guy’s gut.  His face shows no more expression than usual, and his words are too soft for Nicky to hear but he can see the drunkard’s Adam’s apple bob when he swallows.

Neil is frozen in semi-shock, so Nicky moves over to him.

“I’m fine,” he says, before Nicky could ask.

“Stop saying that.  Are you actually okay?”

“I could have punched him myself.”  Neil looks coolly at Nicky and doesn’t actually answer the question.

“But you didn’t have to.”

Andrew comes up to them, and Nicky’s aware that all attention on them seems to have disappeared.  He doesn’t bother asking where the guy went, and they follow Andrew back to the table.  The tensing of his shoulders is the only warning Nicky gets, before Andrew swings around and lands a quick hit on his upper chest; hard enough to hurt like hell but not in a place that could cause any damage.  It’s followed up by Andrew pulling Nicky down by his shirt collar.

“What.  Happened.”  The words are in German, though they are quiet enough that no one would be able to hear anyways.

A hand gently wraps around Andrew’s wrist and he doesn’t pull away.  “It wasn’t Nicky’s fault,” Neil defends.  Andrew’s grip loosens marginally.

“Then whose was it?”

“The asshole who Nicky punched and you threatened.   No one else.”

Andrew looks at Nicky furiously, then back at Neil.  “We’re leaving.”

No words are said between them as they collect the remainder of the group.  Neither Aaron nor Kevin bother protesting, and the latter appears to have accepted his re-designation to the back because he doesn’t complain before sliding into the car.  Their drive to the house is silent and Nicky is pretty sure that Kevin doses off.  Andrew pulls up into the driveway in an unnecessarily sharp and fast turn.

Nicky pokes Kevin awake before stumbling out of the car after Aaron, not in the mood to wait for Kevin’s drunken slowness.  He’s about to make his way to the door when Neil stops him.

“Nicky.  Can we talk?”

Andrew pauses on the way to the door.  Indifferent eyes still manage to convey a question to Neil, who shakes his head no and gestures back into the house.  After a brief hesitation, Andrew leaves to go inside.  Nicky is pretty sure that he’ll be watching them from a window.

Nicky turns back to Neil.  “What did you want to talk about?”

Again Neil is fidgeting and uncomfortable, though he powers through anyways.  “Thanks.  For hitting the guy.  Even though I could’ve done it, it was nice of you.”

“It’s what friends do,” Nicky says, and is instantly aware of how horribly cheesy that line is.  “And we’re Foxes.  We protect our own.”

Neil smiles in the dim light from inside the house.  Nicky is filled with the urge to hug this poor child, who never really had family for friends until this year, who is used to bruised knuckles and throbbing legs from having to keep himself safe.  “Can I hug you?” He asks.

“Huh?”

“Just a friend hug, I promise.”  _I want to wipe the slate clean and rewrite it with nothing but support._

Surprise is on Neil’s face as he thinks it over.  Nicky had never asked prior to hugging him before, simply offering Neil comfort without words.  He’s still not into touching people, into having them in his space, but this was Nicky _asking_.  Nicky, who was rough around the edges and crude but trying to get better.  Nicky, who had given up his life in Germany to take care of the twins, who lost his parents but called Neil a part of his family and called him his friend.  Neil doesn’t think that they’ll ever be as close as he is to Andrew or Matt, but-

“Yes.”

The hug is briefer than he expected, but warm.  Nicky does most of it, leaning down and wrapping his arms around Neil.  It’s comforting, filled with affection and carrying the words that the two of them don’t say.  Neil likes it.

“Thanks.”

When Nicky lets go they escape the coldness and head inside.  Andrew is standing right by the door, not bothering to hide that he was waiting for them.  Without a word, he yanks Neil down and presses a probably bruising kiss onto his lips, before turning to look pointedly at Nicky.

Nicky is familiar with that stare.  At some point, Andrew and Neil had stopped giving any damns about doing anything moderately affectionate in front of him or Kevin, but _that_ look usually meant the latter would be stuck rooming with Nicky, Aaron, and Matt for the night.  (As much as he jokes otherwise, Nicky’s pretty sure that they don’t actually go very far; Andrew and Neil just value their privacy.)

Remembering Andrew’s quick glances in the car, Nicky was pretty sure that the sudden show was less to do with the asshole at Eden’s or Nicky and Neil’s hug and more to do with Neil’s haircut. He hastily runs across the hallway and into his room.

(The next morning Neil comes down into the kitchen for his usual fix of coffee.  Nicky takes one look at his messy hair and the constellation of splotches covering his neck before laughing.

“You don’t need to thank me for being your friend or having your back, but you’re welcome for the haircut.”)

**Author's Note:**

> Also broship-addict on tumblr!


End file.
